The north Belfast fighter and his new bride Christine jetted off to the Far East just a couple of days after they were married on October 27 at the Crawfordsburn Inn, Co Down.

The loved-up couple met more than seven years ago at Kelly's nightclub in Portrush and have set up home in Lisburn with their two-year-old daughter Carla.

But for 13 days Carl swapped the gym, ring and the grey skies of Belfast for beaches, sunshine and romance as the boxer (26) and his wife (25) enjoyed complete relaxation at the five-star JW Marriott resort and spa in Phuket, Thailand.

Normally, the athlete, who is one fight away from becoming a world champion, is on a strict diet to maintain his solid, muscular frame.

But 'The Jackal' said this was certainly not the case on his sunshine honeymoon. "After a fight I have a couple of weeks off where I eat what I want because I have to be so strict beforehand.

"But it was my honeymoon and I was definitely not going to be dieting."

He enjoyed the famous Thai red and green curries as well as fresh crab and coconut rice.

"We just relaxed a lot, it was an amazing resort. It was massive and the area we were in was just unbelievable, it's a beautiful country," Carl added.

The undefeated fighter admitted that he believed he had succeeded in bringing some romance to the trip.

"I like to think it was romantic but maybe Christine would say different. We had massages and meals on the beach," he said.

Their honeymoon marked the first time both Carl and Christine had been away for so long at the same time without their daughter.

"I'm away a lot and I train in London quite a bit but I'm not saying I'm used to being away from Carla because it's hard and never gets easy," said Carl.

"But it was Christine's first time away for so long, so it was a bit tougher for her than it was for me.

"Although it was an amazing honeymoon both of us were glad to get back to see her," he said.

STORY SO FAR

Carl Frampton is one of Northern Ireland's best-loved sports stars and the undefeated European, Commonwealth and IBF Inter-Continental super bantamweight champion. His last fight against Jeremy Parodi took place in front of more than 8,000 fans in the Odyssey Arena and extended his unbeaten record to 17 wins from 17.

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